The class bell rang, and all the fog dispersed.
Vid looked at Dumbledore, and Dumbledore was looking at him as well.
Through those thin lenses, Dumbledore's eyes seemed like a deep blue ocean.
"You let me see Voldemort's life..." Vid pondered and asked, "What is your intention?"
Dumbledore extended his palm, and a leaf from outside fell into his hand.
"Look at this leaf, child, what does it remind you of?"
Dumbledore answered his own question: "Some will say it's green, some will say it's nature, some might say the environment, others will say it's pleasing to the eye, some will consider it an insect's food, while others might think of the passing of time and life. And still, some will say, a leaf is just a leaf."
After a pause, Dumbledore repeated, "A leaf is just a leaf, Vid."
"What you associate with it should depend on you."
He placed the leaf in Vid's palm and said with a smile, "It's lunchtime. Go have your meal. Today's lunch includes pudding with wine-soaked jam; it would be a pity to miss it."
Dumbledore left, and Vid looked at the leaf in his palm, pondering for a long time.
In the plot, Dumbledore took Harry, segment by segment, through memories related to Voldemort, analyzing the human nature and Voldemort's weaknesses reflected in those memories, guiding Harry to search for Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort in the future.
What Dumbledore showed him, however, was the trajectory of Voldemort's life. Without tedious details and lengthy preachings, he simply presented it and left the questions to him.
Was it because their "club activity" was discovered by Dumbledore? Or had Dumbledore seen something from him pushing for the retrial of Sirius Black's case?
Vid thought for a while and used the leaf as a bookmark in his book.
No matter what Dumbledore wanted to convey, Vid wouldn't change his approach because of it.
...
Early the next day, owls delivering the mail flew into Hogwarts en masse, dropping thick newspapers onto the breakfast tables.
Vid opened the "Prophet Daily," and the first thing he saw was a photo of Harry and Sirius Black hugging, with Lupin standing in the corner smiling, showing only half of his face.
In the corner was a small photo of Peter Pettigrew in a prisoner's outfit.
"Look, Sirius Black has been acquitted! Peter Pettigrew was sentenced to life imprisonment!"
Padma, flipping through the newspaper, loudly said to Michael.
Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, and the Weasley Twins wore oddly shaped hats, bouncing on their chairs.
They were involved in the capture of Peter and had been highly focused on the case. Now that the case had an ideal outcome, the twins were as happy as if they themselves had been released.
But their other two brothers were not as happy. Ron and Percy both had stern faces, seemingly ashamed that Peter was once their pet.
"Incredible." One of Percy's dorm mates was loudly saying to him, "I can't believe we actually lived in the same dormitory as that creepy guy! Percy, I'll never keep a rat as a pet in my life!"
Percy's face darkened, and the people around laughed heartily.
Some girls were also whispering.
Vid heard nearby, Cho Chang was saying to her friend, "Marietta, I have nothing against hamsters, but... uh... could you not keep it in the dormitory?"
Marietta looked a little uncomfortable: "Don't mention it, I'll send it back later and have my mom keep it in the garden."
"By owl?" Cho Chang hesitated and said, "Won't it be eaten?"
"No, I'll send it back with the cage..." Marietta said.
Because the school's public owls were used for sending letters, many girls preferred keeping fluffy hamsters or mice as pets, taking them out to play when the weather was nice.
But after Peter's case, the number of rodent pets in the entire school was more than halved. Even if some owners were reluctant to send them away, they no longer kept them in the dormitory.
So two vacant dormitories in Ravenclaw Tower became the place for everyone to keep their pets. Some people even didn't want to keep their cats in the dormitory and simply had them stay in the common room.
Ravenclaw was a little better, as there were fewer people and fewer pets. It's said that Gryffindor often had arguments over pet-related issues.
"Hey, Draco!" At the Slytherin Long Table, someone said in a high-pitched voice, "I heard Sirius Black is your uncle? He was acquitted, you must be happy, right?"
Draco Malfoy's face suddenly turned very ugly.
"Sirius Black is the last heir of the Black Clan, but unfortunately, he's a pure-blood traitor removed from the family tree," another Slytherin student named Morton said pointedly.
Many laughed quietly with malice.
"Shut up, you lot."
For the sake of the Flying Broomstick, Marcus Flint spoke up, "What does an outcast traitor have to do with the Malfoy Family? Draco hasn't even met the man."
Vid looked up and glanced across the table.
Draco Malfoy was facing away from them, so it was hard to see his expression, but Vid saw him grasping his magic wand tightly under the table, the tip trembling slightly.
"Vid!" Michael patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's skip studying this morning and head to the game field."
"Alright." Vid glanced over again, put down his fork, and the two of them walked out of the hall together.
The lawn was slightly damp but not muddy. Most of the plants had withered and turned yellow, and leaves covered the ground, stepping on them felt like walking on a soft, thick carpet.
About a dozen students had already gathered in the game field, waiting for the previous players to come out. When they saw Vid, their faces all turned pale.
"So what are you going to play?" Referee Professor Flitwick, holding a magic wand, happily asked, "Combat or survival game?"
A girl nervously raised her hand and asked, "If it's a survival game, is it the Vid version or the professor's version?"
Professor Flitwick chuckled and glanced at Vid, saying, "Of course, it's the professor's version. Vid is a player today as well."
Everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief and said, "Survival game! We'll choose the survival game!"
Vid's face darkened, and Michael chuckled beside him.
"Alright." Professor Flitwick pressed the Timer and said, "You have five minutes to prepare."
The students all rushed into the game field, and those who had pre-arranged teams moved together, drawing their wands to move the surrounding debris and build defense forts.
The environment in the game field became increasingly complex, thanks in no small part to these imaginative students.
"Let's go..." Michael pulled Vid along as they ran in, saying, "We need to find some cover first... watching once, you'll understand why the professor's survival game is popular!"